I’m not sure if I am the only one who is excited about Fenty Beauty — nevermind! I’m not the only one. Seems like the world is racing to their local Sephora to try Rihanna’s new makeup collection. The line went online at midnight PST time. I stayed up all night waiting, then sadly fell asleep! I woke up an hour after the release and I was shocked — everything was actually still in stock. I’m so used to missing out on new releases that I appreciated that Fenty Beauty was still fully stocked. I think generally people expected it to be sold out immediately.
Now, making releases limited is all about supply and demand. It’s psychology, if there’s only a limited amount, more people will want it. Kanye West has used this mold for his Yeezy releases. Despite this being good for business, it isn’t good for fans who stay up all night or stand outside waiting to get their hands on new releases.
In 2016, when Kylie Jenner restocked her lip kit, it sold out in less than 20 minutes. Looking at the numbers, people probably assumed it sold out to high demand, which is partly true but it sold out due to the fact that Kylie had such a limited amount.
One of the biggest issues is that many people do not have the money at that moment to buy the product, alienating fans that have supported you for many years isn’t a good thing. People honestly don’t have the money to buy at that exact time, people make plans to buy it weeks or maybe even months after and would like for the item to still be available. In response to her lip kits selling out in 20 minutes, Kylie wrote, “It’s not my fault but if it were up to me I’d want it to be as easy as possible for everyone.”
Additionally, the people who purchase these releases sometimes don’t even intend on using the items, they intend on reselling it for way higher.
They’re taking advantage of people who are desperate to get their hands on these products, which are sometimes very young teens who don’t have much money.
To some celebrities, it seems like it’s more important to create this exclusivity image instead of making the item accessible to everyone. Rihanna’s release is so important for so many reasons, including that it is diverse, affordable and accessible to everyone. It’s rumored that Fenty Beauty is FULLY stocked for months. It gives everyone a chance to go in store or online and try out the product. It seems Rihanna made Fenty Beauty out of passion and inclusive, instead of for quick money.
